First, a big salute to Todd of TTVJ for organizing audition opportunities such as this one. I've been reading about the many DAPs that has come down the pipe for the last few years and even cycled through a few but ended up returning back to my smartphone for the convenience factor. It's a roller coaster ride to say the least. I've been down the many roads of carrying "stacks" and DAP "bricks" and despite the levels of wonderful fidelity in an all-in-one unit, my thought remains, "an all-in-one unit will always have compromises and typically won't best the stack combos." Similarly, when it comes to smartphones, which have come a long way since the Nokia N91 and SGS1 /w Voodoo to the more current HTC 10, LG V10/20/30, and G6+, for me they don't sound as good when not using a USB DAC/Amp or portable amplifier and for the most part pales with DAPs. From time and time again, smartphones are "good enough."
The curse in this hobby is that eventually and at times, "good enough" just doesn't cut it. Especially if your ears has had a taste of the mid to summit-fi setups, or ownership of them has came and gone for one reason or another. Eventually, your ears will beg to hear that level of fidelity.
We live in a good time where there's less compromises and depending on the demand of the transducers, desktop or near it performance can be had in the palm of your hand. Gone for the most part are DAPs with proprietary chargers, proprietary amp cards, connectors, batteries, and its lethal weight and brick size. Still, among the DAPs that came and gone, the iconic iPod's size and design lives on.
Indeed, there's no denying the iconic iPod scroll pad in similar but different implementation on the QP2R. I just wished that the surface and speed was every bit like the iPods'; in other words super quick and smooth, and both consistently so. Sometimes, my thumb was too dry or apparently too slippery to create a pleasant navigation. A lot of times during my audition, I found using the touch navigation arrows. Despite this, the QP2R looks damn sexy and like the iPod of yesteryear, it's very portable and fits very, very well in the hand. Like the QP1R before it, the QP2R has very sold feel to it and a few front to back rotations yields a confidence in build and material quality. The implementation of USB-C is icing on the cake and simplifies charging/syncing duties with the same cable and charger as current smartphones. The USB-C should be standard and my eyes roll whenever a new DAP comes out with the legacy USB micro/mini.
I've come to terms that there will always be compromises in any hobby. The QP2R wheel and UI are, IMO, its Achilles heels. The wheel less so from the QP1R as the QP2R has the well positioned FF/RW/PLAY/PAUS buttons. However, if there's one area that shouldn't be compromised its the sound. It seems that the current trend is going streaming/wireless. My history of DAPs have always been a purist approach where purchased or ripped albums are the music source, and for the time being I stand true to it.
During my week long audition, I used the 2.5mm balanced output most of the time because when compared to the SE output, it sounded slightly clearer and wider. I can only surmise that the QP2R innards were optimized for the 2.5mm. If this is the case, I think the 2.5mm/3.5mm ports should be swapped to allow right angle 2.5mm connectors due to their frail nature compared to SE and allows rotation room when a right angle is used and not hit the volume knob protective barrier.
There seems to be a consensus that Questyle DAPs in general sounds very natural, full of detail with incredible stage depth and width. I agree. One area in particular that really made my jaw drop was during DSD playback. The texture from these files were outstanding and flowed very smoothly. No hint of digititus. Once the track and/or albums was playing, the QP2R, or any well engineered DAP should do, is to take its part in the audio chain to produce and emotional connection with the music. The QP2R performed this most effortlessly.
I think the current mode amplifier has a lot to do with the dynamic sound. I use to own the Apogee Groove, which I believe uses a similar amplification tech, and my audible memory recalls it being the most dynamic sounding USB powered DAC/Amp. If so, I think Questyle took to the next level. My Grados and Mg5pro HX ciem sounded like they were being powered to their specification and potential.
On the last day of audition, I pondered between the QP1R and QP2R. If I still had 2.5mm cables and connections, I think the QP2R is be the better choice as the 2.5mm balanced out is a few miles ahead of the SE output. However, I rode and exited off the 2.5mm balanced roaster coaster a while ago and stayed with SE, so for the time being the QP1R stays, and my Samsung S9 is used only for what it was engineered to do - calls/texting/checking email.
Once again I want to thank Todd and this wonderful community for making this tour possible.